Did American celeb cook Ina Garten just claim to have invented the sausage roll?

Watch out Greggs, the Barefoot Contessa is coming for you

Ina Garten claims to have experimented her way to making a fresh new thing that bears a resemblance to the humble, and historic, sausage roll. EPA

She's known as the Barefoot Contessa, but Ina Garten might want to put some shoes on while she's treading on eggshells.

The American cookbook author and TV host has left British fans perplexed after sharing her latest recipe on Instagram this week.

It seems Garten, 72, has just discovered the culinary wonder that is the sausage roll, and appears to be passing it off as a radical invention.

"It's Week Whatever in quarantine and I needed dinner in a hurry so I wrapped some hot dogs in puff pastry and baked them," the host of Barefoot Contessa told her 2.6 million Instagram followers.

"OMG they were so good! Love the high / low thing plus they took five minutes to prep! No one was disappointed."

Garten shared the recipe on her website, calling the dish "Hot Dogs in Puff Pastry" and labelling it as beginner-friendly.

To her credit, her dish is a little more high-brow than the kind of sausage rolls found in a typical bakery: it is sprinkled with flaky salt, pepper and served with Brussels sprouts. But, again, that's really just your standard cafe sausage roll.

The concept of encasing a roll of meat in pastry dates back centuries, even as early as Roman times, though it rose to popularity in its current form in the UK in the 1800s.

While many fans praised Garten for embracing and promoting simple, unpretentious meals, a number of commenters highlighted the crossover.

"In the UK, we call this a sausage roll," one wrote, while another added that Ina had "definitely elevated it with those Brussels."

TV journalist Katie Couric was among those who left Garten a message, adding: "Only you could make this look delicious Ina!"

Couric clearly doesn't understand that the sausage roll is fairly universally acclaimed as yummy on the other side of the Atlantic.

Garten used to be a staff member of the White House Office of Management and Budget before leaving Washington to open a specialty food store called Barefoot Contessa: she's now one of American food TV's most recognisable faces.